Williams: Many of nation's universities engaging in academic dishonesty

Many of the nation’s colleges and universities have become cesspools of indoctrination, intolerance, academic dishonesty and an “enlightened” form of racism.

This is a decades-old trend. In a 1991 speech, Yale President Benno Schmidt warned: “The most serious problems of freedom of expression in our society today exist on our campuses. The assumption seems to be that the purpose of education is to induce correct opinion rather than to search for wisdom and to liberate the mind.”

Unfortunately, parents, taxpayers and donors have little knowledge of the extent of the dishonesty and indoctrination. There are several clues for telling whether there’s academic dishonesty and indoctrination.

One is to see whether a college spends millions for diversity and multiculturalism centers and hires directors of diversity and inclusion, managers of diversity recruitment, associate deans for diversity, and vice presidents of diversity.

See whether colleges spend money to indoctrinate incoming freshmen with programs such as “The Tunnel of Oppression,” in which, among other things, students call one another vile racial and sexual names in order to develop “oppression awareness.”

An American Council of Trustees and Alumni survey in 2004 of 50 selective colleges found 49 percent of students complained of professors frequently injecting political comments into their courses even if they had nothing to do with the subject, while 46 percent reported professors used their classrooms to promote their own political views.

One English professor told his students “conservatism champions racism, exploitation and imperialist war.”

The “critical race studies” program at UCLA School of Law says its aim is to “transform racial justice advocacy.”

At an East Coast college, an exam was found with questions such as, “How does the United States ‘steal’ the resources of other (third world) countries?” The answer marked correct was, “We steal through exploitation.”

An economics professor told his class, “The United States of America, backed by facts, is the greediest and most selfish country in the world.” A Germanic languages professor told his class, “Bush is a moron, a simpleton and an idiot.”

A recent National Association of Scholars report, “A Crisis of Competence,” reported the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute found “more faculty now believe they should teach their students to be agents of social change than believe it is important to teach them the classics of Western civilization.” Use of public funds for private advocacy not only is academic dishonesty but also borders on criminality.

In today’s college climate, we shouldn’t be surprised by the outcomes. A survey conducted by the Center for Survey Research and Analysis at the University of Connecticut gave 81 percent of the seniors a D or an F in their knowledge of American history. Many students could not identify Valley Forge, words from the Gettysburg Address or even the basic principles of the U.S. Constitution.

The National Center for Education Statistics reported that only 31 percent of college graduates can read and understand a complex book.

A 2007 national survey titled “Our Fading Heritage: Americans Fail a Basic Test on Their History and Institutions,” by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, found earning a college degree does little to increase knowledge of America’s history. Among the questions asked were: “Who is the commander in chief of the U S. military?” and “Name two countries that were our enemies during World War II.”

The average score among college graduates was 57 percent, or an F. Only 24 percent of college graduates knew the First Amendment prohibits establishing an official religion for the United States.

A 2006 survey conducted by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management found only 24 percent of employers thought graduates of four-year colleges were “excellently prepared” for entry-level positions.

Our sad state of college education proves what my grandmother admonished: “If you’re doing something you’re not supposed to be doing, you can’t do what you’re supposed to do.”

WALTER E. WILLIAMS is a professor of economics at George Mason University. His column is distributed by Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045.

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George Mason University, the institution at which Dr. Williams is employed, has served as a libertarian enclave with close ties to K Street lobbyists since the 1980s, when Charles Koch began donating heavily to the school. Koch Industries’ executive vice president for public policy, Rich Fink, heads two-Koch programs at the school. Matt Kibbe and other leading libertarian activists are alumni of George Mason’s free market economics department.

The Mercatus Center is a conservative think-tank at George Mason University, in which Charles Koch sits on the Board of Directors. The Mercatus Center was previously known as the Center for the Study of Free Market Processes and was founded--with an initial grant from Charles Koch--by Richard Fink, now a Koch Industries executive vice president. Fink is also president of the Charles G. Koch and Claude R. Lambe foundations, which funds the Mercatus Center.

Mercatus serves the Koch brothers’ corporate needs while hiding behind the facade of a nonpartisan academic organization, a perfect example of academic dishonesty.

[Total Koch foundation grants to the Mercatus Center at George Mason University 1997-2010: $10,474,500]

The conservative “astroturf” advocacy organization Americans for Prosperity(AFP), primarily funded by the Koch Bros., launched a multi-pronged attack on every major policy initiative attempted by the Obama administration. Within weeks of Obama’s inauguration, AFP held “Porkulus” rallies protesting Obama’s stimulus spending measures.

The Koch-funded Mercatus Center, at George Mason University, working in concert with AFP, released a report that falsely claimed stimulus funds were being disproportionately directed towards Democratic districts; the author was later forced to correct the report, but not before conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, citing the report, calls the stimulus program “a slush fund,” and Fox News and other conservative outlets repeat the characterization.

AFP officer Walter Williams, professor at George Mason University, is a frequent guest host for Limbaugh.

Patrick Henry College: After a documentary exposed the surprising number of Patrick Henry College students with high level internships in the Bush administration, the school gained scrutiny for its extensive ties to the Republican Party and social conservative activism.

Hillsdale College: The school was in the news when it was revealed that Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose the Hillsdale salary of his wife Ginni Thomas. Called the “citadel of American conservatism, Hillsdale features academics like Rush Limbaugh fill-in Mark Steyn, and is said to be a pipeline to Republican jobs on Capitol Hill.

King’s College: In 1997 the Campus Crusade for Christ International purchased King’s College, a New Jersey-based school that had been shuttered since 1944, and reestablished it on two floors of the Empire State Building in New York City. Led by Dinesh D’Souza, author of a book arguing that President Obama’s Kenyan heritage gives him a third world “anti-colonial” mindset,which led to the film, " 2016: Obama’s America".

The school has gained a reputation for training dogmatically conservative Christian activists.

Liberty University: Founded by the late televangelist preacher Jerry Falwell in 1971, Liberty has prided itself as one of the most influential Christian colleges in the nation.

Despite the fact Liberty receives about $445 million in yearly taxpayer subsidies, the school prohibits openly gay students and College Democrats.

The school has received much scorn for its teaching of creationism.

Close runners-up include Pat Robertson’s Regent University, an influential evangelical school, and Oral Roberts University, another religious institution with an alumni list that includes Rep. Michele Bachmann and evangelist Ted Haggard.

The Charles Koch Charitable Foundation, has given more than $14.39 million in grants to universities like Florida State, Auburn, Clemson, West Virginia and Utah State.

All five campuses are in financial agreements with Koch-supported groups requiring the university to hire candidates who adhere to defined ideological guidelines.

In some cases, the Koch-supported groups recommend candidates to the faculty or have sway over the college's hiring committee.

"The Koch brothers have paid tens of millions of dollars to get their point of view instilled in classrooms, amongst faculty members and in students," said Cary Nelson, President of the American Association of University Professors. "Programs they start tend to be one point of view only."

What's happening to academia in Florida is not mentioned by Dr. Williams today. However, it is a prime example of academic dishonesty .

Billionaires Charles and David Koch are infringing on intellectual freedom and independence in colleges and universities. It's an old fashioned quid pro quo where the Koch brothers get allied professors who'll preach Ayn Rand, supply side economic policies and the values of the 19th century Guilded Age to students and the college gets some funding.

Every year, thousands of individuals move through the Koch-supported classes, lectures and fields of study, which amounts to an ideological assembly line bought and paid for by the Koch brothers.

There are Koch-funded agreements at more than 150 American colleges and universities.

The Koch brothers' business has annual revenue that are about 200 times the size ($100 billion) in one year than the entirety of Florida State University's endowment ($423 million).

At a time when governors like Florida Gov. Rick Scott are slashing spending on education, colleges and universities are virtually forced into restrictive and ideological funding agreements with questionable sources to meet students' demands.

In many cases they're meeting the Koch brothers needs and the students are paying the intellectual price.

This slavish viewpoint that adults can't hear a liberal professor's opinion without becoming a lifelong Communist on the spot is just pure stupidity. These students aren't toddlers. Any "indoctrination" they are subject to is already deeply ingrained by the time they get to college. Yes, professors are predominantly liberal. Yes, they often in inappropriately insert their opinions into their curriculum. Yes, it's annoying and unprofessional. But indoctrinated? Get real.

You might also have mentioned that the economics faculty at George Mason has included more than one Nobel Prize winner. You might also consider addressing Professor Williams' points instead of relying on goofy ad hominem attacks. Finally you guys on the left have to get over your Koch obsession/envy. Your stuff is getting positively Freudian, also trite, predictable, and hypocritical considering the degree to which the left depends on Soros and deep pockets left wing foundations for its funding.

rettch, didn't you get the memo? The Obama folks are not mentioning the peace prize in the campaign. That could be because it was so obviously an undeserved political/affirmative action award. It could be because Obama has spent the last three years prolonging old wars and starting new ones. But for whatever reason, they are not mentioning it.

we'll be out of Afghanistan during the first year of President Obama's second term.

Did the same committee select Obama's prize as the two from GMU. Were those two influenced by Koch contributions? (google Koch contributions to the process)

Bernardo, you are in for a long evening on Nov. 6. I suggest you get yourself a generous supply of whatever you use to get through such situations.........realizing that there are sane persons in this great land.....

WaPo this morning: Obama leads Ohio by 8........may be a little tough for Gov. Romney to win w/o Ohio.

If you want I'll continue to respond, but I don't see the necessity.....

which is to expose the teaching of critical race theory. It is one thing to have a liberal, left leaning ne'erdowell for a teacher cheat the students by failing to teach a well-rounded education. It is another for students to pay to be taught failed philosophical thought as a fact.